Changing real estate agent

Hi I’m new in this hoping to get some ideas here

We are selling one of our IPs in Brisbane and it has been on the market for 4 weeks now without any offer. Looked up some info online and talked to a few people and they said the two common factors are price and real estate agent

Price wise we are fully guided by the real estate agent. He gave us a written appraisal with a range of $670-720k. We also had a bank valuation a few months ago that came back at $690k before renovation (we took some money out to renovate the bathroom and repaint the house).

I also believe that he is a good agent with good communication skills. Although he does not normally sell in that area he was highly recommended by a friend which was the reason we used him. Long story It has been 4 weeks and we have not received any offers. A friend of mine (who’s also a real estate agent) thought this is strange as we should be getting some offers now even silly/low ball offers. I’m not sure about the market sentiment currently but it’s in a mostly owner occupied suburb with good schools.

I understand that there are many reason why your property doesn’t sell but I’m just wondering if it’s worthwhile engaging a local agent now to sell our property as they will have more knowledge about the area and might even have database of clients to sell the property off-market?

 

Before you assume it's the agent (and it's unlikely if they have a good reputation) I would research recent sales in the area. Look for equivalent properties recently and price accordingly. If it's an older house expect to reduce the price compared to newer ones.

 

The house was listed for offers over $670k which I think is at the lower end of the range. The agent suggested we lower that further to offers above $639k to attract some interest. Most of the houses in the area are selling in high 600k so we thought our listed price is reasonable

We bought the house about 4 years at $580k. We are very keen to sell as we would like to buy a house to live in ourself. I’m only worried that the price reduction is not going to end here

Does anyone have any experience (positive or negative) in changing realestate agent to share?

 

tbh, but changing the agent is not gonna bring in buyers, the market decide the price. u mention properties selling in high 600's. may i ask how long ago ?
look in the sold section, the houses most comparable that sold most recently to have an idea.

if ur reducing your asking price dont mean you have to sell at a reduced price, you are just using price to attract people in, and if u manage to create competition, you may still sell at your target price.

if the price are still in the high 600's ask the agent why.

check your agreement to see if there is a time frame locked in when u sign the agency agreement. nsw is 90days.
if there is a time frame. u will have to request he release you (written) else when the property sells. you might need to pay double comms.

i've never needed to change, but if after all these and u think changing agent is the right thing, no harm asking for a few appraisal and ask the new agents what they would do differently.
nothing to lose, time and effort is your only cost.

 

No point having an agent if you ignore their advice to reduce the price. Can't blame the agent if the house is over priced for the current market. Reduce to 639k and see what happens.

Yes, you might need to reduce the price further. The market does not care what you want, or what you paid, only what people can afford and value the property at.

 

All I can suggest is to do your research and have a really good look at what the property is worth- let me know if you need any help with Data (i.e. RP Data).

You also want to know what interest is like in that area right now. For example, I have one for sale in Woodridge that is exceptionally well priced, and interest is still slow- but similar units in the area have an average time on market of 4 months, so we're still doing pretty well at 4 weeks. In some other markets, it would be considered extremely low enquiry.

 

Four weeks is too soon to judge the agent based on there being no offer. How many people are coming to each open? What is the average days on market? What is the agent's feedback?